


Pas De Deux

by papergardener



Category: Ballerina | Leap! (2016)
Genre: Ballet, F/M, OTP Feels, Pas de deux, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Welcome to the fandom, meradette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 10:44:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11183484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papergardener/pseuds/papergardener
Summary: “Odette, wait… will you dance with me?”A short post-movie scene where Merante finds Odette in an empty practice room and has a request.





	Pas De Deux

“Odette?” 

She looked up from her cleaning to see Mérante striding into the deserted practice room.

“I’m surprised to see you in here so soon- class just finished.”

“I know,” she replied, pulling herself up with her cane and patting down her skirt. “An annoying little redhead was bothering me and mentioned some of the ballerinas kept slipping, so I figured I’d come and take care of it now rather than later.” 

“Well… yes. That was- that was good of you.”

“Just doing my job.” She couldn’t help but smile as she met his gaze.

She picked up the bucket, the dirty rag perched on the edge and with a slight bob of her head towards Mérante walked back to the door he had just come from.

Only… she hesitated, hand on the door as she debated if she should even mention-

“Yes, Odette?” Mérante questioned in his familiar, probing way.

Her hand fell from the door handle as she turned to face him, unsure if she was overstepping, even as she set down the pail and walked toward him in the large room. Things had been, well… she didn’t know what was between them ever since the Nutcracker performance. He was still her employer, or at least something like a manager, but certainly there was more to it than that. At least, she thought so. That kiss…

She cleared her throat, more to distract herself than anything else.

“You might have the girls carry their arms just a little higher in the raised fifth position. Just a touch so they’re almost past their center- it’ll help their breathing, and their posture.”

Mérante looked taken aback, and Odette could almost feel herself shrink, chiding herself for trying to lecture a Maître de ballet when she hadn’t danced for over ten years.

An apology was on her tongue but before the first word was out, Mérante stretched his arms before him and took the first position- hands and legs elegant, posture perfect. He switched to second, then third- precise, sharp. He smoothly swept into fourth, and she was struck by how little he had changed from his days as danseur at the Opéra Le Peletier.

He finished in fifth, arms raised over his head, held it for a moment then pulled his arms just a touch more back and closed his eyes, feeling the weight of it.

“I see.” Eyes still closed, he took a deep breath standing in fifth that Odette found herself mirroring, squaring back her shoulders instinctually and standing straighter. It’d been so long since she’d done those steps herself, she was surprised how easily the old feelings resurfaced.

“That’s good advice,” he said, gently bringing his hands down, his feet stepping out of the parallel.

“Of course,” she said, for a moment relaxing in the comfort of the room, the warmth of his presence. But, she reminded herself, this wasn’t her world anymore. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to my cleaning.”

She turned away, feeling more clumsy and stiff than usual, her cane clunking beside her.

“Odette, wait..”

She paused, tilted her head back.

“Will you dance with me?”

Her breath hitched in her throat. She clutched the handle of her cane with a shaking hand.

“Please?” he asked in a low voice.

She heard slow steps approach, but was too scared to face him. She hadn’t danced since… since…

“I…”

_I don’t think I can._

She could feel him standing there behind her, a steady presence. 

“We would take it slow. I’d be with you the whole time, you won’t fall. And… and if wished to stop you need only say so.” He paused, his voice carrying a strange vulnerability she wasn’t used to. He waited, and still she couldn’t find the words. 

She looked over her shoulder, one foot turning slightly, and made up her mind. With a soft sigh she walked to the door, gripped her cane hard to steady herself and, breathing out, left it against the wall. Praying she would not make a fool of herself, especially in front of him, she carefully turned and faced him, keenly aware of her damaged legs, her unresponsive feet.

Summoning all those memories of dancing, of floating, she took two careful steps towards him, hand outstretched. His face faltered, then lifted. He met her halfway and took her hand with a practiced grace. 

She pulled her shoulders back, head high, and reached forward and planted her foot, tilting her other leg up and felt a slight wobble. Her balance was shoddy; as was her footwork and she knew not all of it was because of her old wounds- the deep burns, soft bones. 

She lowered her leg and brought herself to an open fourth position to face him. “I might be rusty,” she admitted, ready to pull away at any moment. 

Instead, he responded with a slight squeeze of her hand, before she felt his other hand on her waist.

“I’m sure you still have it in you.”

It wasn’t any pas de deux she’d danced before, nor watched. They improvised each turn and bend and sweep, and Mérante was always there to steady her, guide her when she felt unsure. She felt her body shift, as if it were young and whole again- the practiced turn of the wrist as she rose from a dip, sinking into a demi-plié and leaning into an arabesque- arms and leg outstretched, balanced and poised with Mérante. They went slow, each movement long, deliberate- an adagio without preamble or coda. 

As they danced her nerves gave way to an incredible joy that filled her like sunshine. How she had missed this. It was like coming up for air after drowning for years, like balm after a burn. And all the while, Mérante’s hand was firm at her waist.

She lost herself in the dance, it was like a dream.

A slight movement caught her eye, jolting her back to reality as she saw a row of heads peaking over the stairwell, watching them.

She gasped and would have lost her balance without Mérante being there. He spun around to find what had distracted her and saw the girls hiding in the stairwell, and heard at least one of them gasp and bob out of sight.

“Wha- Class was dismissed! All of you, go! Allez!” he called out, throwing out his arm and was rewarded with embarrassed giggles and rustling of fabric.

Odette looked to the door and saw flashes of red and gold just slip out of view before it shut, as Merante turned back to her, flustered. 

“I should get going,” she said leaning back and letting her feet find steady ground.

“Ah… of course.” He looked at her hand, still clasped in his. Their eyes met for a moment, and he smiled before he walked with her to the door. She didn’t mind- she wasn’t ready to let go yet.

He took care giving her the cane- she wished she didn’t need to take it. But their moment had been fleeting and now it was gone, and she was back to being just a cleaner.

Still…

She leaned up and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He look briefly stunned before collecting himself and put a hand on her elbow.

“Thank _you_.”

Opening the door she wasn’t surprised to see two familiar faces, Camille perched behind Félicie who had her mouth wide open as if trying to get enough air to ask the many, many… many questions she had.

Odette put a finger under her chin and snapped it shut, silencing her before she was able to make more than a high-pitched peep.

“You’ll catch flies like that,” Odette said.

“But… but that- what was that?”

“If you’ll excuse me, ladies. I have a lot of work to do,” she said, unable to keep the smile off her face. “And I believe you two have training," she called out over her shoulder.

She felt like she could fly again.

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since seeing that kiss (ugh, that kiss!) I’ve been desperate to read more about these two. But that also meant I needed to write it, so here you go. Hopefully someone else will enjoy this as much as I have.  
> I hope the ballet bits made sense. If anything looks amiss please let me know (haven't danced since I was 6)
> 
> Some general notes-  
> * the Opéra Le Peletier (or Salle Le Peletier) was the home of the Paris Opera before it burned down in 1873 (for those of you keeping track, the movie takes place in early 1880's) where (real life) Mérante worked as a danseur and choreographer.  
> * an adagio in ballet is the middle part of a pas de deux defined by slow, deliberate movements between partner
> 
> Also, this fandom is so young and new I made a Tumblr blog for it, in case anyone wants to come hang out (and learn about history) - https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ballerina-leap


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